Kidney Diseases (Nephrology)

In this section

Expert Nephrology Care and Kidney Transplantation Services

Kidney diseases can affect quality of life and growth in children and cause serious complications if not treated properly. At NewYork-Presbyterian, we have a mission: to provide compassionate, expert care for newborns, children, and young adults with acute and chronic kidney disease. We develop warm and ongoing relationships with children whose kidney conditions are chronic or progressive and their families, and often care for these children over many years. If your child needs a kidney transplant, we can refer you to our transplantation teams, who have extensive experience performing this complex procedure with a track record of excellent outcomes.

Skilled Diagnostic Services: Using the full range of advanced imaging services and diagnostic tools, we are experts at pinpointing the cause of your child's kidney problems. If we determine that a biopsy is necessary, we perform this procedure using ultrasound guidance and conscious sedation.

Managing the Consequences of Kidney Failure: Children who have kidney disease can develop related problems, such as growth failure, anemia, bone disease, hypertension, and acid-base and electrolyte imbalances. Our kidney specialists have exceptional experience detecting and managing all of these complications. They work together to help your child lead as normal a life as possible.

Specialized Radiology Services: High blood pressure (hypertension) is a common consequence of chronic kidney disease. To reduce the chance that your child will develop additional complications related to hypertension, we use arteriography to evaluate the damage to the arteries in the kidneys. We are the main referral center for these procedures in the New York metropolitan area.

Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring: We offer 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, which measures blood pressure at regular intervals throughout your child's day and is more accurate than blood pressure measurements we take in an office. This test can help determine whether kidney disease is causing your child's elevated blood pressure.

Growth Failure Program: We have specialized expertise caring for children with growth failure, which can result from chronic kidney disease. We are particularly interested in learning why some children with kidney disease do not grow, and in treating growth failure using recombinant human growth hormone, which can help some children to grow more normally.

Advanced Dialysis: We provide the full range of kidney replacement therapies, including hemodialysis for older children and peritoneal dialysis for very young children who are still too small for transplantation. This type of dialysis can be done in your home at night while your child sleeps.

Kidney Transplantation Program: Our nephrologists work with our transplantation specialists, who provide comprehensive evaluation, care, and follow-up for children who need a new kidney. Through our Living Donor Program, you may be able to donate a kidney to your child. Following transplantation, we routinely use steroid-free treatments and cutting-edge therapies that reduce the side effects of anti-rejection drugs.

Pioneering Research Initiatives: We are working to develop new and more effective treatments for children with kidney disease. Examples include stem-cell based therapies that would enhance kidney repair and new approaches to controlling blood pressure. Our research goal is to be at the forefront of discoveries that advance our understanding of kidney disease and its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.